“Beauty,” set in South Africa, lends a morose look into the life of a middle-aged and unhappily married man named Francois. Angry and emasculated due to his closeted homosexuality, he listlessly pursues momentary satisfaction with older men, but these attempts at soothing his suppressed sexuality do not satiate his desires. In a quick turn of events, he becomes fixated over a young man studying law in Cape Town and begins stalking him. As his obsession heightens his façade of normalcy rapidly deteriorates. With a provocative, yet emotionally restrained plot, viewers are thrust into the examination of one’s path to self-identification and eventual discovery.

Please note, this film contains graphic sexual content.

“Hermanus, who previously helmed the award-winning Shirley Adams, ratchets up the tension with long takes, awkward pauses and exacting camerawork that places viewers uncomfortably alongside the voyeuristic Francois. Offering the flawed Francois a final haunting glimpse of the life he might have led, Beauty is a complex and highly challenging drama about sexual repression.”

— Steven Jenkins/Frameline

The FLGLFF “GLOW” series consists of a monthly program filled with feature films and documentaries produced with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in mind. The films chosen are produced and directed by prominent independent filmmakers from across the globe.